posted on 2021-06-24, 14:37authored byM. Devine, Michael Vynnycky, Sarah L. Mitchell, Stephen B.G. O'Brien
A recent asymptotics-based thermomechanical model is adapted and applied to the mould region in the
continuous casting of round steel billets, with a view to describing the complex interplay between airgap formation, mould taper, cooling channel width and cooling water velocity. Although the situation
is steady state, the analysis leads to what is mathematically a dual moving-boundary problem for the
solid–melt and solid–air interfaces, where the distance from the top of the mould region is the time-like
variable in the problem. Moreover, the two interfaces are initiated at different locations. In addition, the
thermal and mechanical problems are found to decouple and it is possible to solve the first ahead of the
second. The model equations are solved numerically using a finite-difference method, and the approach is
subsequently successfully validated against a previous finite-element model and experimental data from
temperature measurements taken within the mould.
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